house or home...

so i was with this amazing friend of mine last tuesday. he's one of those guys you like to do about anything with, work, talk, drink coffee, etc. so as we were hanging out, we were "removed" from the local coffee shop for they were closing, so we went on a drive. we drove all around my quaint town and for some reason started talking about houses. largely due to him remodeling this old home he is currently dwelling. nonetheless, we went to my favorite part of town, where all the "rich" folk live. 

the area is called riverview and it is a lovely place. the best part about it is that all the houses are completely unique. you can tell that different homes were built at different times, for different kinds of people, and even in very unique styles. you have the tudor mansion sitting right next to a colonial masterpiece with its opulent columns, which is adjunct to a late 70s art deco home that has more angles than a geometry textbook. as we discussed my love of architecture, we just reveled in the craftsmanship of these homes, pointing out dorian columns, keystone artistry, and sumptuous foyers that were seen through massive windows every home we gazed.  

the funny thing was that the day before as i was waiting to eat grecian food with a new friend, i traversed another of my favorite places - ghent. as i drove through riverview, i immediately resonated the same sentiments as i meandered the ghentonian neighborhoods. there was uniqueness overwhelming me in each home. i was able to see the time period and recognize even the people who lived in these homes as i glimpsed through the windows for further insight into their lives. both of these places are "historic," however, their historicity was not bound, it randomly had a "not" in their patterns of home style for each street. i was amazed to see a house that was royal blue. not that faded blue that you find in most kitchens but a blue so vivid that all i could think was of peacock's and their color palette. i was so intrigued by these houses. 

and then something hit me. what makes a house a home. what is a house? my thought was a house is merely an edifice that holds people for when they do not occupy their work. and then i thought, when you walk into a house, you don't say, "wow, this feels 'housey,' you say, this feels 'homey.' " why? because a home is a place that people don't merely stay, but it is where they live. a home is a place that invites and welcomes and extends and comforts. it a house that hugs. it makes you feel cared for and loved. and then God just blew my mind. 

people are like houses. we are all unique, we are all styled, we are all aged. we are edifices that hold things and guard things, or merely occupy a space. none of us are exactly the same, we are all unique, but in that uniqueness our houses are telling people different things. some houses have 4 foot walls around them. some homes don't have windows. some homes only have one door. in that same regard, people are the same way. we have walls, we don't let everyone in, we make people relate to us only through the door of our choice, etc. but then i looked back to those houses. 

the ones i wanted to go in, where the ones that were open for all to see. they were the ones with the huge windows, they are the ones that you could see the art on their walls, their huge furniture, their books, their tvs, and their kitchens. the ones that were inviting were the ones that were truly homes. so now as people are, how are we being homey and inviting? or are we houses that have never been called homey? have we failed to let others in because we are selfish and are fearful of what they might say or do in our house? or maybe they will want to come to secured places and we don't want them to. 

my heart was challenged as i thought that i often am probably not as homey as i should be. i still pull a house on people and make them stand from the street to engage in my life. then i thought of Jesus in the upper room discourse and how he said, i go to prepare a place for you. or in other words, i go to make my father's house homey for you. jesus shows that in our relationships we should be as the early church and be people who are hospitable. not just merely in the natural sense of our homes, but of our lives. how are we inviting and caring and warm towards those that we come in contact with. do people want to be let into our homes? or do they sense our cold house and decided to not tread on the "no trespassing" sign we have plastered on the door to our hearts. 

what if we opened our lives to others, not merely for others, but for the benefit of us as well. everyone knows that when a house is not lived it, it will fall apart. i wonder how many people are falling apart because no one has been sitting on their heart's couch. 

i want to open my doors and welcome people into my house. so that my house may become a home for both others and for Jesus. when's the last time you invited someone over? i plan to do so today. 

- peaks out.